De-core wire. How do you manage it?

[strigamort]

I've been running longer and longer alien sticks. I'm thinking about taking some sticks with me when I run to the local shops in case they'd like to try them. In any case I'm having a problem and figured that someone might have a fix.

After stretching the de-core I place the wrap wire next to me keeping it clean. It's rare that I get an unexpected birds nest, but what DOES keep happening is the wire wadding up after I've run a few inches. As it wraps it twists the wire and I don't usually catch it in time to relieve it before it becomes a problem. it's driving me crazy. I've had to cut a number of sticks early because I couldn't keep from damaging the wrap wire.

I primarily use 36g and 40g 316l SS.

Anything I can do to help myself? What do you do about it?

I'd love to hear about how you manage the de-core after stretching too. I've tried the no-stretch method, but I can't seem to click with it yet. I think the problem there is because I don't use any clips or stabilizers for my cores. I stretch my wrap so that it takes very little to get it to run fast and clean. Ever since I found my groove I can usually run for a while without looking at it. I'm really happy with how everything is going, but that damn wadding up...

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[mach1ne]

i attach my unstretched decore to the drill with my cores ready to go and stretch it from there. i walk away with the other end until its stretched enough and lay it flat on the ground in a straight line back to the drill. i also straighten out the last inch or two of decore so its as flat and straight as i can so it doesnt hook on anything (done this on light carpet and wood floors with no issues). due to the height of my desk i can put myself under the decore so its not touching me as it wraps up (under my arm, above my leg).

i find that a bit of tension (if you under stretch) causes that spiral to go backwards to the other end of your decore. the more understretched you were, the more it spirals. i think the reason it never is a problem for me is that my biggest alien build only needs about ten inches of wire. im guessing that my decore is short enough that it can roll all the way over. if it was longer the front half would roll on top of the back half.

for the no stretch technique, i have only tried it with 40 and it was pretty smooth. i dont feel like it would work any lower because even 38 is strong enough to require a lot of tension to go from 0 to 100% stretched, and that will all be placed on your core wire stack.

considering those observations, i think my best advice is to try understretching the longer decore by 25-50%. it will twist and spiral more because you need extra tension, but it will be short enough to roll all the way over. just make sure your core wire stack is solid and consider ribbon sliders or something to compensate for the extra tension...and maybe make sure to look over your shoulder a lot and check to see if whatever decore is touching the floor is still ok.

how long of a piece of alien wire are you shooting for? what are the cores?

 

[strigamort]

Great stuff! Part of the problem might be that I move around a lot. I don't have one set space to work in, but instead I keep all of my stuff in containers that I take with me. I showed some pics a while back but I like to make stuff in natural light so I spend some time on my gf's upstairs deck. This is actually ideal for me because (well, unless it's windy) I hang the de-core off the side so it can move around in mid air. With the Pacific right over there and the California sky as the backdrop coil making becomes a zen thing. Sometimes I'm working on carpet so that presents a problem. Nothing a length of pvc pipe can't overcome (credit- Sherlock Hohms).

I don't have a set length. I try to match up the core length with the length of de-core I have on hand, but thanks for asking because it reminds me that I need to work out the ratios in order to minimize waste. It should be criminal the amount of waste wire coming from my bad habits.

Typically a foot is good, although I'll run 18" at high speed if I'm feeling focused.

Cores are always 26 or 28 or 30g unless I'm just having fun (also called wasting wire!). I use both SS and Kanthal depending on resistance needs.

Thanks for your answers. I will give the under-stretch another chance. Makes sense that a shorter length of de-core would work itself out better than a long piece of stretched wire. Also, I didn't consider that no-stretch might be easier with 40g! Definitely going to try that asap.

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[mach1ne]

it reminds me that I need to work out the ratios in order to minimize waste

i make about 40% more decore than my finished wire will measure, and i add an inch or so because i wreck both ends of the decore when i attach it to my drill and stretch it out. that ratio seems to fluctuate with different gauges of wrap and total core widths, but i have never come short using that math, and if i have too much, is only a few inches at most.

i get my single coil length from wire wizard, round it up to nearest inch, multiply by two for dual coils, and add an inch or two for my swivels and drill connections. this usually leaves me pretty close to the perfect amount for my two coils.

edit - once i saw you mention ratios i forgot to address the other part. i used to build just sitting on the livingroom floor with my tools in a half circle around me. i really noticed a difference when i got a desk and set all my stuff up so i was comfortable and organized. i totally get why you would want to go outside though. my area is fairly dark and poorly lit. i wear a headset with a light on it and i look like an extra in the background of the badguy headquarters in a bad action movie...hunched over all these weird little tools working on something incomprehensible with my googly goggles over in the corner...